| House-Call: Increasing Stairway Clearance |
|
|
|
advertisement
|
Many older houses have lower doorways, ceilings and landing clearances than those found in modern home designs. General contractor Tom Silva hits the road for a "house call" -- investigating a problem for a tall homeowner whose low ceiling threatens to knock him out as he walks down the stairs on his way to the basement. Tom solves the problem by cutting back stair treads to create much-needed headroom. He explains that the ideal total measurement for tread and riser combined is 17 inches, with a minimum of 8 inches for the tread.
- The problem in the basement stairwell is a clearance that is less than 6 feet high (figure A), making it likely that tall individuals may bump their heads as they walk down the stairs.
- Checking the outside of the upstairs stairway reveals that the problem-spot is at the landing (figure B) where there is a beam that is actually supporting the upper section of stairs. Since it is not feasible to remove the support beam, the remaining solution is to shorten the span of the basement stairs, thereby adding to the headroom at the point where an individual would be standing beneath the beam.
- The existing stairs have treads that are 11-1/2 inches deep (figure C). On a basement stairway like this, a 9-1/2 inch tread would be sufficient. By shortening each tread by 2 inches, the overall structure of the stairway is shortened, thereby providing greater clearance below the beam.
- The treads of the existing stairs are pried up and removed using a crowbar (figure D).
- With the treads removed, the existing stair-stringers are cut out using a reciprocating saw and removed (figure E).
- With the run and rise of each step known, the boards for the new stringers are measured and marked for cutting, using a framing square as a guide (figure F).
- Once marked, the notches are cut using a circular saw (figure G). Each notch was finished using a hand saw to avoid cutting too far into the board.
- The stair stringers are hung from above using specially designed metal plates (figure H), which are available at home centers.
- The lower end of the stringers are supported with metal timber hangers (figure I).
- With the supports attached, the stringers are placed in position and nailed secure at the top (figure J) and bottom (figure K).
- Before installing the new risers, the homeowner tests the newly heightened headroom by carefully walking down the center stringer (figure L).
- New risers are put in place and nailed into position (figure M).
- Each of the original threads were then ripped down to the new dimension of 9-1/2 inches deep, then reinstalled (figure N) to complete the stairs.
- Later, the wall of the stairwell was patched to cover the areas where wood was removed, and trim details were added to complete the project.
Construction Tip: When building stairs, the rise and the run of each step should add up to 17 inches. So, for example, if the rise of each step is 7 inches, the run should be 10 inches.
RESOURCES :
HGTV's Complete Fix-It
Author: HGTV
Quick Guide: Stairs and Railings
Model: 188002988X
Author: Rich Ziegner (Editor) and Jeff Beneke
Creative Homeowner Press, 1996
Ask This Old House web site
Ask This Old House web site
Website: www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/
Ask This Old House online episode guide
Ask This Old House online episode guide
| 
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
